And So It Ended

…a passenger van appear out of nowhere, and I struck him….My yellow Wing bled green coolant and black oil; the forks got twisted terribly. I merely had a scrape on my elbow.

And so the audacious ride ended, one bike crapped out, one totaled. Jerry, unable to trust his, sold it the next day to a bike shop, took the train to his daughter in Maryland and flew home. I rented a car and drove home, stopping to see my sis in Kentucky.

But was God behind it? Did we ignore his earlier hints in our ambition to achieve the states? Only he knows, but…

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Changed Plans: Stress or Relax

Back in 2022, Jerry and I audaciously attempted an 8,500 mile East Coast ride, to finish all 48 states on a bike for him, and my last 3 for 50. It fell apart in Connecticut, but we decided to try again in May 2023. That blew up on the first day, but Jerry suggested day rides from his place in Oregon, which included a longer multi-day trip: backroads to Estacada and catch 224 that paralleled the Clackamas River, then take 46 to Detroit, then we’d figure it out…

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Coconut Shrimp or Oatmeal?

 I’ve led a Life Group for about three years for our church, North Coast Church in Temecula, and last spring we had a fine addition, George and Polly White. George is an astrophysicist/mathematician/author/thinker/professor, mentored by one of my favorite writers, Robert Jastrow, and Polly, born and raised in Singapore, is an energetic natural hostess and baker and cook. You need to know that to fully get the rest of the story. Just after the Christmas celebrations, another member, Linda Vaubel, posted on our group text that she had two leftover and untouched cakes for anyone who would like them.

That gave Polly an inspiration, so…

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Not Ready

For decades, music played little role in my long rides. Most bikes didn’t have the technology then, or the wind drowned out the sound. For three years I did listen some with earbuds to Pandora on my Goldwing, but to be frank, I loved the sounds of silence more than the distractions of other people’s thoughts in music. Silence gave time to ponder, to examine my past and myself, both good and bad. Often the topic of why I made various choices came up. Why did my romantic relationships only last three months? Why did I not pursue some options for marriage, ones that sometimes came close? I always had jobs and paid the bills, but no jobs captivated me.

But the silence of the road…

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Feeding the Hungry and Jesus

Not long ago, a very good friend and solid Christian put this meme up, and it struck me…about how badly it misses the essence of following Jesus. The meme’s foundation proclaims that as far as feeding, animals and humans are the same. If we give either food, we make them dependent and they lose self-motivation. Therefore, we treat humans like we treat wild animals: we don’t feed them, we allow them to stand on own. I often hear, they made bad decisions that put them in that condition. They deserve it. But the question, especially at Christmas, does this match reality and Jesus?

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